MRPL net up 129 percent

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) announced Friday a 129 percent jump in the company’s net profit in the first quarter of this financial year, a company regulatory statement said. MRPL, a mini-ratna and an ONGC group company, posted a profit after tax of Rs.8.4 billion in the quarter ending June 30, 2008, compared to Rs.3.6 billion in the comparable period of last year.

The big jump in net profit was mainly due to the sharp rise in global oil prices that led to an inventory gain of Rs.6.55 billion net of tax, the statement said adding that oil prices had gone up from an average of $100 per barrel in March this year to $129 per barrel during the quarter under review.

Exports have, however, dropped from Rs.29.1 billion in the comparable period of last year to Rs 28.52 billion in the first quarter of this fiscal, the statement said.

Meanwhile, total turnover rose by 46 percent to Rs.107.47 billion from Rs.73.7 billion. The gross refining margin rose to $18.03 per barrel, compared to $8.27 per barrel in the corresponding quarter of last year.

But, despite these figures, MRPL has discontinued sales to large customers like Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Indian Railways as “government has not accepted the request of the company to issue oil bonds and crude discounts from upstream companies to compensate for the under-recoveries in diesel sales”.

Similarly, it has put on hold its plans to set up retail outlets due to the burden of heavy under-recoveries.